This page provides information on how to set up Android devices in preparation for using them with CommCare. If you want instructions on how to install and set up CommCare for Android please go to Install CommCare for Android Smartphones to get started.

Procure a Mobile Device Management Tool

We strongly recommend you procure a mobile device management tool to manage your devices, the data used on the devices, the apps used, and the time spent on each app. Dimagi has an MDM solution you can consider called Focus that is tailor-made for international development projects with low-or-no connectivity. We have seen large i-NGO's use MDM solutions to secure their patient/user data, save money with restricted data usage and increase their frontline productivity.

Setup Google Account

You need a Google account to download applications from the Google Store for the phones. You can either create an individual account for each phone or create a single account for the project. To setup an account go to https://accounts.google.com/SignUp from your computer.

Pro(s): You can use the Android Device Manager to track the devices and lock/wipe them if they get lost. The individual email addresses can also be added to the respective mobile users' profiles on HQ so it's easier to track. The best tool for tracking a phone's location is Google Maps' Location History.

Risk(s): In at least one case, a few days after starting the system, Gmail shut down these accounts because it suspected they weren't people's personal accounts, which violated its terms of use.

Pro(s): One fixed account to manage with one password can standardize setup of phones for new users without having to create additional accounts.

Risk(s): Having a single account for all phones can have a slew of unintended consequences - contacts, photos and settings will all get backed up to the same Google account. There are some pretty significant privacy concerns and the likelihood for serious HR problems. To minimize these potential issues, please make sure to follow the "uncheck the auto-sync option" in the steps below.

Once you have the account(s) per your requirements, follow the steps below.

If prompted, uncheck "Keep this device backed up with my Google Account"

if prompted, don't choose to setup the phone for Google +

If prompted, uncheck all the Sync options

Optional: to reduce bandwidth usage and stop multiple devices with the same account from sharing contacts/photos/other data between each other, choose the Account from Settings -> Accounts and Sync and uncheck all the sync options

Install Applications from Play Store

Open the Play Store from Applications. On older devices, it may be called Marketplace

Search for CommCare. Choose the CommCare and Install It. Make sure Auto-Update is checked.

Search for Amaze File Explorer and install it. This is useful if you are installing Multimedia on the phone.

Optional: Search for Barcode scanner and install one such as "Barcode Scanner" by ZXing Team. Note that Barcode / QR code scanning is a native feature of the Camera app on more recent versions of Android. You can easily check that by trying to scan a code using the Camera app.

Optional: If typing in a different language is required, you may want to install Google Input for your language. For example, Google Hindi Input is available.

User Friendly Settings

Remove all extra home screens: pinch screen and tap and hold the others to remove them

Setup CommCare Application

Note: If you have multimedia, download your multimedia zip file from CommCareHQ, plug in your phone to a computer and copy the zip file to the phone.

Open CommCare (Applications -> CommCare)

Choose the Enter URL option (recommended) or use the barcode scanner to scan the application QR code on CommCareHQ

Enter the App Code for your application (or scan the QR code)

Choose Begin Install

Phone will connect to the internet and download your application

If you have multimedia, you will prompted about missing multimedia. Press the Settings -> Install Multimedia

Choose the folder button and find the multimedia zip file you copied to the phone

Multimedia should validate correctly

First Time User Login

Open CommCare

With internet connectivity, log in as the mobile worker for that phone. This will ensure they can login without internet or network in the future.

If the application is using lookup tables, be sure to also press "Sync", the blue button on the app's home screen. This ensures that the lookup tables are downloaded to the phone for this specific user.

Setup Home Screen

Go to Applications

Press and Hold CommCare to create a shortcut on the homescreen

If phone has multiple home screens (swiping left and right on homescreen shows additional screens), repeat to create shortcut on every home screen.

If it's not possible to remove the home screens (e.g. Android 4.2.2), install Nova Launcher and set it as primary launcher.

Nova Launcher is really useful for setting up multiple phones efficiently. You'll only have to setup one phone with your preferred settings, then save those settings within Nova Launcher, and then upload that file to other phones (remember to download Nova Launcher on every phone first). An example for setup instructions here.

Additional Useful Apps

There are many free Android applications that can be useful to the phone's users. Here are some favorites:

FocusMDM - Focus is our in-house mobile device management tool which can be used to block apps, track time used on each app, remotely install and update apps, and lots more. Contact saggarwal@dimagi.com for more info, or see the Focus Confluence Page

Connect phone to computer via USB and copy .apk files to the phone. For phones running Android 4.x, you may need to pull down the notifications to put the phone into "mass storage mode" before it shows up as an external hard drive. Also copy the .ccz file downloaded from the Deploy area of the app builder if you're doing an offline install of your CommCare app.

Open the .apk files from the phone's file manager. This will install the app. If the phone doesn't have a file manager installed by default, you may need to install Amaze File Explorer from the Google Play Store first.